Fruit, produce, and refrigerator car.



No. 790,851- PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

' E. M. PHILLIPS.

FRUIT, PRODUCE, AND REFRIGERATOR GAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1904.

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ICE BOX WITNESSES: l/VVE/VTOR RMWW BY ATTORNEYS No. 790,851. PATENTED MAY 23, 1905. E. M. PHILLIPS.

FRUIT, PRODUCE, AND REFRIGERATOR CAR.

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I/Vl/ENTOR Ernesi MPhfllips ATTORNEYS n Q. Is

APPLICATION FILED APR.19, 1904.

W/T/VESSES.

NITED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

Fries.

PATENT FRUIT, PRODUCE, AND REFRIGERATOR CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,851, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed April 19, 1904 Serial No. 203,870.

To all w/wm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST M. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Castile, in the county of WVyoming and State of New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit, Produce, and Refrigerator Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The car is adapted for ventilation and for heating or refrigeration, as may be required.

The invention is embodied in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire car, one side and the top being mainly removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of one end of the car. Fig.3 is a perspective view of a portion of the hinged doors, inverted, forming a part of the floor of the car. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of a ventilator and smoke-flue attached to the roof of the car.

The exterior portion or body of the car may be constructed like an ordinary produce or refrigerator car. Beneath the true floor A of the car is arranged a second or supplementary floor B, the two .being spaced apart, so that an air-chamber is thereby provided. The true floor A will be made of thick planks similar to those ordinarily employed in box-ears; but the lower floor B may be constructed of thin material, since its only function is to form the lower side of the air-chamber. At the ends of the car this air-chamber communicates with others which are formed by means of partitions A A extending part way to the roof of the car and duly spaced from the ends thereof or from adjacent portions.

The floor A is solid or fixed at all points save the central, where two doors 0 are provided, the same being hinged and adapted when folded downward to lie flush with the remainder of the floor A, but adapted to be raised and supported in vertical position, as illustrated in Figf1-that is to say, in said figure one of the doors is shown down and the other elevated and secured in such position by means of sliding bolts D. The latter enter sockets in the side posts E of the car. The object of this construction is twofoldfirst, to provide for introduction of a stove or any suitable form of heater in the space be tween the doors, so that the car may be suitably heated in the winter-time, the .currents given off from the heater passing underneath the floor A and upward in the end chambers, whence they discharge through screens F F. The pipe from the stove may be extendedto one of the ventilators G, the la tter being provided with a hinged top 9, (see Fig. 4,) which may be opened by means of a hand-rod g. The ventilator has a stopper or plug which is hinged and may be secured tightly by means of a bolt and th Limb-nut g". The portion of the stopper which enters the lower end of the ventilator G is tapered and covered with felt, so as to form a tight joint. When the aforesaid stove or heater is not employed,the ventilator G may be opened for more thorough ventilation of the car, or it may be tightly closed to exclude rain or snow or prevent the introduction of cold air. It will be seen that each ventilator G is provided with a lateral and down wardly-extended nozzle 9 Then the car is moving in the direction in which these nozzles project, an aircurrent will enter the same and pass down into the body of the car, and when the car is moving in the opposite direction air will be siphoned out of the car, it being understood that the top valve 9 will in such case be closed. In other words, since the devices G are fixed in position and project in opposite directions when the car is running, one takes in and the other siphons out air. In ordinary producecars when used in cold weather a false side door is constructed with an aperture to receive a smoke-pipe of a stove or heater placed in the car; but in my car the mutilation, clelay, and expense incident to this are avoided, since the devices G subserve the purpose of smoke-exit as well as ventilators. As shown in Fig. 1, I provide vertical extensions for the doors 0, the same beingindicated by C and consisting of planks adapted to rest upon the doors proper and permanently attached to the posts E by means of chains Hand staples b. When these extensions C are not required for use, they are supported upon the side wall of the car by means of keepers I and brackets I, as shown.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the doors 0 are provided with strap-hinges whose eyes are so arranged that they lie alongside of each other and are pivoted together and are also flush with the floor of the car when the doors are closed.

It is apparent that when the doors are closed the car may be employed in the usual manner for transporting any merchandise or goods; but when the doors are raised, as illustrated in Fig. 1, they form practically bulkheads or transverse partitions and divide the car into compartments adapted for containing different articles or kinds of goods. It is apparent that thedoors may be extended vertically to any desired extent, as has been already described. The extensions 0' abut the posts E, which thus serve as cleats for holding them against lateral pressure; but the doors 0 are supported wholly by the sliding bolts D. The doors C thus form part of the floor of the car when lowered, and when raised and secured, as shown, they constitute bulkheads that hold fruits, produce, & in place and also form opposite sides of tie space or compartment in which a stove is located in cold weather. As is well known, shippers of fruit, produce, &c. ,find'it absolutely necessary in cold weather to provide a car with transverse bulkheads or partitions on opposite sides of the doors in order to keep the contents of the car from contact with the stove and to form a space or compartment for the latter. This involves the delay and expense of construction of temporary bulkheads, which must, however, be chopped down or otherwise removed at the end of the trip, thus entailing further delay and expense, the lumber being rendered useless for other purposes.

In my car when it arrives at its destination the doors C may be released by the simple withdrawal of the fastening-bolts D and lowered to horizontal position, which operation is efiected in a few seconds, allowing the contents to be shoveled up.

At one end of the car, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, an ice-box K is provided, the same being supported upon a suitable bracket or by any other preferred means. It is provided at the top with one or more openings and doors or lids, and access is had thereto through the top of the car. The partition A which is adjacent to the ice-box, is provided at the top with a screen F and a door L is provided for closing the screen-opening. A door M is provided at the lower edge of the partition A and another, N, is also provided at the lower end of the partition A The partitions A A are separated by a considerable space, as shown, so that circulation of air is provided for as followsthat is to say, when the doors L, M, and N are closed the circulation of air will be through the hollow bottom of the car and up through the end chambers and out through the screens F and F; but

ticles needing refrigeration, in which case the heavier cold air descending in contact with the ice-box passes through opening which the door M is adapted to close, and if the middle or floor C be open cold air also passes beneath the floor and up into the body of the ear.

It will be seen that by the improved construction of the bottom of the car I avoid many objections to a common feature of fruit, produce, and refrigerator cars-namely, the provision of a removable or false floor, which when in use is laid or rests upon the true floor and when not in use is removed or else raised to the top of the car and supported there. In my car there is no floor to be inserted, adjusted, or removed; but by the simple provision of a thin and cheap partition.

below the true floor I provide an air-chamber and flue which allows ventilation and also serves to keep thecar cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Further, by merely providing doors in the true floor I attain advantages in respect to warming the car in winter and forming bulkheads in the car at any time. It will also be seen that when it is desired to ship perishable goods, as fruits, &c., in cold Weather by closing the doors L, N, and M the ice-box K is shut off from the rest of the car-chamber, so that the latter is much warmer than it would otherwise be.

The shipper usually has the most loss from frost affecting cars on the bottom and at the ends, and it can be seen' that by the manipulation of these shutters or doors a car can be made much warmer in winter and cooler in summer; also, that when it is desired to ship fruits, vegetables, &c., in warm weather (in bulk) the cold air from the ice-box K will circulate beneath the floor, making the refrigeration much more effective than in the ordinary refrigerator-car. For this purpose it is necessary that the door M shall be closed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The improved car for the purpose specified having an air-passage beneath the floor which opens near the end and also in the center of the car, a door C for opening or closing the center opening, and a refrigerating end compartment having a top opening F a lower opening, a partition A arranged parallel to and spaced from the said refrigerating-compartment, and having openings at the top and bottom, the lower openings of the said partition and compartment being provided with hinged doors M and N arranged as described, whereby when closed they form opposite sides of an air-passage communicating with the air-passage beneath the floor for the purpose set forth substantially as described.

2. The improved car having an air-passage beneath the floor, a partition spaced parallel to the end of the car and forming an air chamber or flue, having a bottom opening communicating with the air-space beneath the floor, a top opening communicating with the body of the car, a central floor-opening provided with doors (J, which when closed down form a portion of the true floor, and when raised in vertical position allow air to circulate beneath the floor and through the air-space at the end of the car, and also form bulkheads,

with means for fastening them in such position, substantially as described.

3. The improved car for the purpose specified, having two floors spaced apart to form an air-passage, a door C forming a portion of the top or true floor and hinged so that it may be raised as described, bolts for fastening it in vertical position, an end air-passage in the car having an opening at the top and communicating with the passage beneath the floor, and combined smoke-fines and ventilators secured to the top of the car and provided with lateral nozzles and hinged valves adapted to close the open top substantially as described.

ERNEST M. PHILLIPS. 

